Description
Book SynopsisDrawing on hundreds of court-martial transcripts published by the Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces,
Policing Sex and Marriage in the American Military explores how the American military justice system policed the marital and sexual relationships of the service community in an effort to normalize heterosexual, monogamous marriage as the linchpin of the military's social order.
Trade Review"The author has shined a spotlight on the power and reach of the military justice system not only with regards to gender, sexuality,marriage,and family, but with regards to its power and control over military culture."—Wade P. Smith,
American Journal of Sociology“A far-reaching and harrowing analysis of the American military justice system’s policing of marital and sexual lives of service members during the second half of the twentieth century. . . . [This is] an original and important contribution to the historiography on gender and sexuality studies in the American military.”—Aaron Belkin, author of
Bring Me Men: Military Masculinity and the Benign Facade of American Empire“Kellie Wilson-Buford has thrown open a surprising window on the contested workings of patriarchy. If you’re digging into the politics of marriage, read this book! If you’re exposing the militarization of morality, read this book! If you’re questioning the gendered history of the Cold War, read this book!”—Cynthia Enloe, author of
The Big Push: Exposing and Challenging Persistent Patriarchy“Essential to the study of gender, sexuality, military culture, and crime, each of which matters in distinct but related academic disciplines and to policy-making and social justice advocacy. . . . [This book] reveals the U.S. military’s practice with respect to crime, sex, and marriage in a way that will enrich the fields of gender and sexuality studies. It makes [both] careful and novel arguments.”—Elizabeth L. Hillman, president of Mills College and coauthor of
Military Justice: Cases and Materials Table of ContentsList of Tables
Acknowledgments
Author’s Note
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Engendering Military Marriages
2. Policing International Military Marriages, 1950–75
3. Enforcing Monogamy
4. Normalizing Heterosexism and “Natural” Sex
5. Protecting the Public Morals
6. Policing Sex and Marriage, 1976–2000
Conclusion
Afterword
Notes
Bibliography
Index
